Highlight EP17: Li Shande was stunned when he saw his “mother-in-law” | The Litchi Road
You’re from Chang’an? Do you have a house? A mansion? A mansion is expensive. On credit? So, you don’t have savings? How much is your salary? How much did you borrow? When do you plan to pay it back? Do you have any plans? You have a girl? That’s good! Your conditions aren’t great, but you’re honest with me. You’re decent. So, I won’t nitpick about the rest. Well, if you succeed in the litchi transport, will you return to Chang’an or stay in Gaozhou? Chang’an, of course. You can’t! Tong won’t go to Chang’an with you. She doesn’t have to go with me. But… If I succeed in delivering litchis and His Majesty is satisfied, this litchi orchard will become an imperial one! No one will dare to stir up trouble. Tong can stay here afterward. She won’t leave. But then you can’t see each other. You’ll be worlds apart. And that will… Ma’am, you got us wrong. I only care about my daughter. I’ve never had any designs on Miss Tong. We’re friends. I’ve made that clear to her before. Miss Tong is… Stunning. Stunning and exceptionally talented. Right? Yeah. And kindhearted. She’ll find a good man. Aunt, please don’t play matchmaker for us. We’re truly just friends. Are you blaming me for meddling too much? I need to make sure of it. Or you might be fooled. Fine, if you don’t want me to stay, I’ll go back to the Dayu Mountains! I’m leaving! Please don’t! If you let this city man stay in the litchi orchard, I won’t come back again! Ma’am, Solid bone. Solid bone. Solid bone. Ma’am, the litchi transport project
is approved. Yes! Don’t celebrate yet. A frank warning. The Hu Merchant Guild has a rule: If no progress is made in 30 days, the investment will be withdrawn. Close the two-day gap as soon as possible. I understand. I’ll get busy. Thank you, everyone. Hurry, Li. Get up. Mr. Li. Let me introduce them. Mr. Wei, Mr. Zhao, and Mr. Zhou. They are businessmen and major investors of our guild. They heard of your litchi transport to Chang’an and they’re very interested. Mr. Li. Gentlemen. Mr. Li. Nice to meet you. Mr. Li, we specially requested our leader to bring us for inspection for future collaboration. Can you kindly brief us? I… I’ve said everything I should say at the Guild. I’m inarticulate. I might not be
the right person for this. In business since antiquity, buyers come before sellers. Investors request and the guild must comply. This venture is fully funded by the Guild. Mr. Li should cooperate. Elder Su and Lan Yu are supervising the orchard already. How else should I cooperate? Mr. Li, we’re here to help you undertake this monumental project. See my Hu-style attire? My Great Fortune Trading House improved its design. Vibrant colors blended with Tang elegance. If you can advertise it to the public, sales will soar. I transport litchis. How am I supposed to advertise your clothes? I don’t need attention! Unnecessary! Ma’am, he might misunderstand our collaboration slightly. Can you kindly explain? These investors handle thirty to forty percent of the Guild’s procurement. Your non-cooperation may jeopardize the funding, which might be beyond my control. Gentlemen, we toured the cultivation zone. Now we’re heading to the village… Please move to the middle. The village of the litchi-savvy Dong people. Is this also a litchi tree? Sharp eyes! This is the only millennial tree in the orchard with a significant history. The entire orchard thrives under its shade. Truly sharp eyes! See? The Dong people enjoy litchis joyfully. Imagine when the Noble Consort tastes them, the glory is yours to share! Do you know the purpose of these double-layered urns? This is for… Correct! For transporting incense materials. Cost the Guild fortunes. Mainly thanks to Mr. Li… Mr… Mr. Li! I’m here. Mr. Li. Thanks to Mr. Li and his water-isolation preservation. Thank you for your dedication. You’re welcome. You’re truly professional. Tong? Come here. Tong, get up. Miss Tong is young. But she is the orchard’s chief. She manages everything. She’s a little stubborn. But she’s very devoted. Everything is arranged meticulously. Greet the managers. Excellent! Spirited girl! Let’s continue. Mr. Li, what are those bamboo baskets for? They’re newly-arrived spares for litchi transport. Such a waste! These are common dock cargo baskets. No branding, no custom design. You can’t use these. Mr. Li, pick one style. Don’t worry. We’ll provide free baskets. Yes! The most important thing is to make sure Mr. Zhao’s shop name is visible. So, the litchi urns, the horses, the riders’ attire, and the litchi packaging, all will feature your designs? We’ll arrange everything for you. All costs covered. It’s not about costs! Efficiency matters! These litchis aren’t sweet enough. Sugar-curing them would sweeten them. Are cured litchis even “fresh”? Can we rename it? Let’s call it Great Fortune Fruit. An auspicious name boosts sales! We can hire popular poets to write verses about the Great Fortune Fruit. It’d ensure fame. Or we can paint all the urns red. That would give them excellent symbolism! Festive! And the horses… Stop it right now! This is enough! If you keep messing around, transporting litchis will be a joke! Or perhaps this is exactly what you want? This is not our intent. This is a misunderstanding. They’re merely suggestions. We can talk about them. Right? Litchi transport is our blind spot. You make the call. But promoting fame and capturing public interest is our expertise. Yes. We understand that you’re a professional from the Office of Imperial Parks. You may scorn our tricks. Understandable. But without these tricks, we can’t raise funds. That’s right. Mr. Wei, I’m blunt, but I mean no offense. You’re major Guild investors. But I just want to get this job done. I’m afraid I cannot comply with this collaboration thing. I admire your integrity and dedication. You flatter me. Mr. Li, does your daughter attend an embroidery workshop in Anren Ward’s Willow Lane? Run by an old eunuch surnamed Wang, right? You know him? Yes. How coincidental. His shop is leased from me. When he opened the workshop, he was financially strained, so I funded him. If I reclaim the property and evict him, would that old eunuch end up homeless? Mr. Li, both morally and rationally, you might want to reconsider our collaboration. Tell Zhao Xinmin. I won’t play along. Ma’am, this slap will cost you dearly. Li Shande, you still want to dine here? Let’s go somewhere else. It stinks. Coming! Move faster! Leave some more over here. Remember them! Come on. Since these match the technical specifications, repaint them. Then we’ll inspect. Put them on the far side. Don’t break them! Drag that fool away. He’s in the way! Get him away! Go! He’s my brother. Nag, nag! You’re nonstop! Organized items are messed up by you. Miss Tong, these are priorities the managers just mentioned. I’m merely organizing and inventorying. Control your dog. This is my orchard. Not your place to rampage. Li Shande leads the litchi transport. You must consult him before touching anything. The Guild sent me to supervise. Everything here is paid for by the Guild. But the Envoy hasn’t approved! The Guild Leader has. I execute matters she’s approved. Understand? Fine. I’ll tell Li Shande. Go ahead. You may also ask him how many days the repainting and replacing cost. Hurry. I’ll return for inspection. Fine, I’ll go. Your wine. Buy some sugarcane for Mr. He. Ma’am. Ma’am. I haven’t seen you for some days. How about some tripe strips
I put aside for you? Excellent. The usual for the other dishes? Two cups of wine. Aye. Food needs time. Have some litchis first. So that Mr. Wei was planted by Zhao Xinmin? You hit him. How will you explain this
to Zhao Xinmin? Your wine. Zhao Xinmin is just He Youguang’s watchdog. Don’t worry about me. Worry about yourself. Though I’m unsure why you helped me out, thank you. Hitting him wasn’t for you. I have my reasons. Answer me. Have you solved that two-day gap? Not yet. Still working on it. Off-season now. It’ll be tastier later. A Chang’an man became a litchi expert? I have no choice but to study. Does His Majesty know transporting litchis from Lingnan to Chang’an is a mission impossible? Of course. They say the Noble Consort
craves litchis. I doubt it. It’s more like a man’s hollow promise to please a woman. Then he shifts the burden to others. We shouldn’t speculate. How timid. You’re not a brave man. Yet you’re striving for this suicidal task. I’ve seen desperate people. Honest people. But desperate and honest? You’re the first. What kind of person are you really? A Chang’an man. Petty official, clinging to life. That’s all. Yet you stir much commotion. I was swept in the vortex unwittingly. Like this litchi, sweet to you, and yet bitter to me. Why eat it at all if it’s bitter? I guess this is life. Even immortals can’t act freely. Maybe even Taibai Jinxing
[*A deity in Chinese folk religion] has worries too, right? In this mortal world, there’s always something
you don’t want to do but have to get it done. You just seek a clear conscience. So that when you die and see the god of death, you can look back at your life
and answer him, “I did my best.” That’s it. Why did you take a suicidal mission willingly? How much money do you have? Why ask? I have 300 guan, among which 150 guan was from the Righteousness Loan. I bought a house with the money. Mortgaging a house? Normal. For you, normal. You can buy as many mansions anywhere in Lingnan as you please. But not for me. That house is for my daughter. My only hope and purpose. This purpose is taken away from me by this litchi task. To return to her, I must succeed in this task. No matter how He Youguang obstructs me, I won’t quit. You asked why I helped you. Because from what you did, I recalled how my father protected me with the same desperation. Li Shande, what took you so long? I dined with Amita. What’s her scheme this time? We just dined, that’s all. That girl from the Guild came today ransacking and said she’d come again
for inspection. They were never so diligent before. There must be some malicious intent. Villains now invade our doorstep. Be cautious. What? Amita hit a merchant? Yes. Amita acts increasingly recklessly. When her father died in flames, had you not intervened, taking her in, or had you not overruled objections, legitimizing her father’s fleet, and handed it to her, would she have become who she is today? But she shows no gratitude when she makes decisions. Ma Guiyun has been pursuing Amita lately. What is Ma Guiyun? At best, the Right Chancellor’s envoy. Pursuing Amita? He bites off more than he can chew. But still… Ma Guiyun is a petty villain. I fear complications. What complications? Hear me out, sir. I have a plan. Speak. Ma Guiyun has strutted like a peacock lately, pursuing Amita madly. But Amita ignores him. He’s frustrated now. Perfect timing to arrange a beautiful woman to win him over. “For men, love is climbing mountains; for women, it’s opening a door.” We can exploit this chance to recruit Ma Guiyun. But since he fancies Amita, his standards for women are high. Any candidate? Indeed one. Mr. Ma. Miss Lan Yu. Mr. Ma. Seeing that it’s not our Leader, are you disappointed? Not at all. Knowing of this banquet with you present, Miss Lan Yu dressed splendidly. When she dances with you later, it’ll be like paired phoenixes soaring. Miss Lan Yu, does Amita know you come here alone? I’ve long admired you. Sadly, you see none else. Your eyes and your heart hold only Ma’am. Before I came, I confessed to her. She approved, saying you’d stop pestering her. Isn’t she cold-hearted? I didn’t realize it earlier, but you’re sitting together now? Truly a perfect match. I’m so jealous. Guiyun, your future travels with a beauty will be so delightful. Deserves a toast. A grand toast! Mr. Zhao. Cheers. You went to the trouble for me. Is this banquet merely for setting Lan Yu up with me? Just to catch up on each other’s news. Only a catching-up? Of course! Hope you enjoy the banquet. Drink heartily and revel joyously! Lan Yu, dance! Dance! Mr. Zhao. Have you enjoyed yourself? Seems so. Take care of yourself. Mr. Ma. Miss Lan Yu. You’re still stunning without the make-up. And you’re a true hero! Unaware observers might think you were the host tonight. It was a get-together of good friends. You treated me warmly, so I felt at home. No hosts or guests. Mr. Ma, I heard the Pingyun Mountain out of town has enchanting scenery. It’s worth visiting. Shall I accompany you tomorrow? I am lowly and plain. I’m asking what I don’t deserve. Don’t cry! Hold those tears back. I can’t stand to see women’s tears. You said Pingyun Mountain? Alright. Hold those tears back. I’ll be there. Farewell, Mr. Ma. Qilang, how can you be charmed so easily? Lan Yu is merely beautiful. How can you be so weak-willed? Your mission is unfinished, but you’re touring mountains now? Her cheap tricks can’t fool me. I went with the flow. Mr. Zhao invited me to the banquet with motives. I couldn’t act rashly without knowing his motives. I couldn’t sever ties either. So I had to play along to figure out his true intent. Qilang, you’re a true hero! We’re feeling each other out. Every word gets a reply yet leads to nowhere. Our rhetoric leaves room for maneuver. Gou, you’re still too young. Appearances often deceive. Time will tell. It often takes several rounds to know the outcome. I fear your act may become real. You clearly enjoy this game. You probably are relishing the feeling of being admired. After all, being pursued is easier than pursuing others. Love holds profound mysteries. Feigned affection is false. True feelings arise from the heart. What do you know at your age? I may be young. But I’m no fool. You’ve gained more female companions here. Consultant Konglang acts
as a mentor and friend. She’s both graceful and wise. Amita stands bold and spirited. She’s as excellent as any man. Today another showed up. Delicate and charming, a tender beauty evoking affection. You’re blessed with romantic luck. You’ve grown more mature. Starting tomorrow, you don’t have to brush your teeth. Because today, I’m going to knock them out and rip out your tongue which spoke such nonsense. Where did you learn those expressions? Shameless, get lost! What’s happening? My aunt has come. She’s a great witch from the mountains named Chai. She might assist with litchi transport. But… Confucius believed
neither in gods nor ghosts. We cannot place hope on superstitions. My aunt holds great power. She was born with divine gifts. The Dong people
all seek her rituals and guidance for weddings or funerals. Matters handled by her always proceed smoothly. Can she advise on preserving litchis then? Probably not. Deities care not for such trivial matters. Move, get out of here! Get out of here! What are you doing? Saving you, obviously! What are you doing? Hey! You disrupted my ritual! The heavenly gods are watching and they are furious! They will punish you. When have those gods ever spared me? This is poisonous. This is made [Chai]
of Datura flowers and leaves. When dried and burned, it induces hallucinations. This is toxic. Really? Truly. I’ve seen this many times. When we’re ill, a sniff cures us all! Not cure, just an anesthetic effect. It merely masks your symptoms temporarily. Stop inhaling! Do you trust me or this city man?